Bitterblue- Graceling Realm #3

Overall rating- 4.5/5

Summary (goodreads)- The long-awaited companion to New York Times bestsellers Graceling and Fire

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

Now, if you've read Graceling and Fire but haven't read Bitterblue, you really should! This book ties together everything from those books, in a way that's simply amazing. And some characters from the other two books appears as well, along with of course, exciting, new characters.

Again, it is another fantastic book by Kristin Cashore. I just love the way she brings all the 3 books together. I must say, my actual rating would be 4.5. That is purely because it took me longer to get into this book. This is because this books talks a lot about politics, and frankly, I find politics very boring. However, it was an amazing book.

I was so happy to find that Katsa and Po also appears in this book. I just loved them from the very start, and even now they are still my favourite characters! Their love are so cute and passionate at the same time, it was awesome. Katsa and Po are both quite stubborn characters who fought a lot. And yet, every single time, they managed to find their way back to each other. Even when they had their biggest fight in the book, they eventually forgave each other. It was such a sweet relationship ^^

I find Bitterblue quite an interesting character. She is quite a strong and independant character, which is good. I also found her relationship with Saf interesting. It's like they're on the very edge of being friends or lovers. It was kinda sad to find out that Saf leaves, but I think that eventually he'll return, and perhaps ends up with her ^^

I was also very excited when Fire appears again. I can't believe that she's an old woman now! I just can't imagine her being old....she must still be quite strong though, to be able to travel far away. I wanted Bridgan to be there too....but oh well~ (I can't imagine him being old either!)

I love how this book brought a lot of twists, like how Bitterblue's advisors were the ones who were responsible for the crimes. I liked Thiel, and I was sad to find out that he died :( I also find the use of codes interesting....and Kristin Cashore found a clever way to weave the Dellians into Bitterblue's life. Because they're from a seperate place entirely, it was clever to create a language for them. And such a clever way of inventing a new alphabet! It was awesome!

Overall, even though this book lacks the many adventures Graceling and Fire has, it was still worth reading! This book has found its way to my favourite list~